Both sets of rules now go to a vote by the US Lacrosse Board of
Directors, which is meeting in Baltimore this weekend. Adoption by
the board would allow the rules to be implemented for the 2012
season.

The proposed youth rules emphasize the proper development of
individual players, team play, player safety and sportsmanship, and
they will govern play at the U15, U13, U11 and U9 age levels.

At its January meeting, the US Lacrosse Board of Directors
directed leadership in the men's and women's games to proceed with
the development of age-appropriate, national youth lacrosse rules
and best practices. Included in the effort was a survey of youth
leagues representing nearly 170,000 youth lacrosse players to gauge
rules and modifications that leagues were currently using.

In addition to its usual review of US Lacrosse rules for the
women’s game at the high school age and above, the US
Lacrosse Women’s Game Rules Subcommittee, led by chair Lissa
Fickert, analyzed the returns from the various youth leagues,
reached out to people throughout the sport, and incorporated advice
from the US Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee to develop
the proposed youth rules.

“The committee, and Lissa, went above and beyond with this
project,” said Melissa Coyne, women’s game director for
US Lacrosse. “They really did a lot of work to make sure this
was done on time and correctly.”

Among the specific rules proposed in the girls’ youth
game:

Full checking will now be allowed at the U15 level as long as
at least one of the two umpires assigned to the game has a Local
rating, or higher. Modified checking (below the shoulder) will be
allowed at the U13 level and no checking is allowed at the U9 and
U11 levels.

The playing fields at the U9 and U11 age levels will be reduced
in size. Fields will be rectangular in shape, 60-70 yards in length
and 30-40 yards in width. A center circle and 8-meter arc will be
added to the field to introduce the concept to younger
players.

Elimination of the deputy at all levels of youth lacrosse. The
consensus was that teams repeatedly utilizing a deputy did not help
players properly develop. Goalies did not learn how to outlet the
ball, and teams became too dependent on a talented player to clear
the ball by carrying the ball the length of the field.

One of the biggest changes for some leagues for 2012 will be
grouping teams by age instead of their grade in school. US Lacrosse
member leagues and tournaments should field U15, U13, U11 and U9
teams based on the age of the player, with Aug. 31 the cutoff date.
For example, all players on a U13 team must be 12 years old or
younger on Aug. 31 of the preceding year.

“We can’t emphasize enough how different a
9-year-old is from an 11-year-old, how different an 11-year-old is
from a 13-year-old, and so forth,” said Dr. Paige Perriello,
a former NCAA Division I player, coach and umpire and current
member of the US Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee.
“Knowing what youth can do at different levels with gross
motor skills and mental capabilities and putting that expertise
into practice is important.”

Lacrosse Magazine will continue to follow the progress of the
rules passage online and in future print editions. A vote on youth
girls' lacrosse rules by the US Lacrosse Women's Game Committee is
scheduled for Monday evening. For more information on US Lacrosse's
youth rules and best practices initiative, visit the project's
homepage at uslacrosse.org.